Maresca makes a striking admission and leaves a clue for Leicester City defender.

When Leicester City travels to Watford on Saturday, manager Enzo Maresca must make a few selections.

When he leads Leicester to Watford on Saturday afternoon, Enzo Maresca will have to make a choice after it was revealed that regular center half pick Jannik Vestergaard is out. The tall Dane will hopefully have his slight hamstring ailment fixed during the Foxes’ King Power Stadium doubleheader next week.

While this is going on, City must manage without him as they go to Vicarage Road, and Maresca will need to find a replacement for Wout Faes in the center of defense—not that he is particularly short of possibilities. Ben Nelson, a teenage defender who inked a new deal in December, came in for Vestergaard during last week’s 5-0 thrashing of Stoke and looked good. In recent months, he has gradually been accumulating more first-team playing time.

Conversely, Conor Coady, a summer acquisition, is at the other end of the career spectrum. While many may have anticipated seeing more of the former Wolves defender this season, he has been forced to wait patiently for his chance. Despite those possibilities, Maresca still has the option to call upon Harry Souttar, who returned to training this week after leading his home country of Australia to an individually successful Asian Cup campaign.

Maresca was pleased with what he saw of Nelson, whose agility he values as a defender who is asked to play a high line, at Stoke and, despite valuing Coady’s off-field personality on the training pitch and in the dressing room, it would appear that Nelson could be in line for a first City league start.

Conor Coady could make his Leicester City debut against Liverpool after three games as an unused substitute

“Conor is playing an important part for this club, and this team,” Maresca reasoned. “Unfortunately he’s not involved every game. The reason why, first of all, at the start he was injured and out for months. Then when he came back, during that time Jannick was playing and doing very well. The way we try to play with the high press, sometimes you have to defend with 40 or 50 metres in behind.

“Because we have already defenders who aren’t quick – Callum isn’t quick, Jannick isn’t quick, Conor isn’t quick – we need to find the balance with the players who can defend in behind. Ben Nelson played the other day, this was the reason why. We were playing on the opposite side and we needed to defend with 50 metres behind. Ben can do that.

“The reason why in this moment we are where we are is because Conor, Jamie [Vardy], [Danny] Wardy, who has been training good every day, they are playing an important part – even if they struggle to see it because they’re not playing. For the players, the most important thing is to get minutes and this is my thought about Conor. I can understand for them it’s difficult because they want to play every game.”

It was also put to Maresca, whose wealth of options and depth extends beyond his centre half selections, that he’ll soon, all being well, be able to call on all four of his senior centre forwards at one time in the near future. Kelechi Iheanacho will contest the AFCON final with Nigeria this weekend and return thereafter to Seagrave, while various injuries and international calls have meant that Maresca hasn’t, until shortly, boasted a full arsenal – but they won’t all be involved simultaneously.

“It’s probably going to be the first time, when Kele comes back,” Maresca said. “No doubt, some of them will be absent from the squad when they’re all available. Three strikers on the bench is too many; one striker is on the field. The situation is what it is, and ideally we can get them all healthy so I can make a decision, but it seems excessive to play with one striker while keeping three on the sidelines.”

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